Sanding and polishing machine



March 23', 1937. J, T, UNDSEY 2,074,479

SANDII IG AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 51, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 23, 1937. J. T. LINDSEY 2,074,479

' YSANDING AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 31, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 El N LQQMQ 1\ g T a 4 a 3 s z m n b INVENTOR Jose zbzzzwg By ,8 W

ATTO EY March 23, 1937. J. T. LINDSEY SANDING AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 31, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 11/212 dials .5 C7556? 9 BY A9. Azls ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to sanding and polishing machines and more particularly to sanding machines useful in finishing portions of the cases v of grand pianos.

'5 7 Although many attempts have been made to sand or finish the outside of the rim of a grand piano casing, mechanically, no machine prior to that of the present invention has succeeded in v performing this operation, not only because of the relatively great size of this rim but because of its irregular contour.

In accordance with the main feature of the present invention, a machine is provided in which the irregularly shaped rim of a grand piano can be readily manipulated to bring all parts of the outside surface thereof into contact with a sanding or polishing belt.

The various features of the invention will appear from the detailed description and claims 0 when taken with the drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine of the present invention with a grand piano rim thereon, illustrated at the beginning of the cycle of operations; Fig. 2 is also a front elevation of the machine illustrating the final position or stage thereof in the polishing of the piano rim; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the machine with a piano rim mounted thereon; Fig. 4 is a side elevation and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a fragment of that part of the machine by which the piano rim can be lowered to polish a portion thereof; Fig. 6 is a sectional view of this lowering means taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; Fig. '7 is a sectional view of the lowering means taken on the line. 1-1 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates an endless polishing or sandpaper belt which passes around the pulleys 6 and I, one of which is continuously driven from any convenient source (not shown) so that the belt moves endlessly. This belt is positioned at a convenient height so that a piano rim 8 can have successive portions of its outside surface brought into operative relation to the lower surface of the belt. It will be understood that an operator by using a suitable wooden block (not shown), can depress the moving sanding belt into contact with the adjacent surface of the rim. The rim 8 is demountably attached -at its edges to a movable T-shaped support 9, by means of adjustable clamps [0 herein illustrated as being three in number. This support is mounted for a wide range of movements on a carriage H provided at its two sides with pairs ofrollers l2 and I3, which engage the spaced tracks I4 and 15 secured on the floor or other suitable foundation. Opposing brackets on the opposite sides of the carriage near the rear thereof are provided with rollers l1 engaging the underside of the flanges of the tracks l4 and I5, so that the carriage will not' be tipped over by the weight of the support and, the rim carried thereby, but instead will be held in upright position by the tracks. It will be noted that these tracks are at right angles to the direction of movement of the belt 5, so that the operator can move the carriage and the rim supported thereon back and forth at right angles to the direction of motion of the sanding belt to effect the sanding operation.

The support 9 of the piano rim is not only arranged to be moved longitudinally with respect to the carriage, but it is also arranged tobe rotated in an irregular path with respect thereto. The mechanism for effecting the longitudinal movement of the support includes a U-shaped bracket l8 attached to the front of the carriage near one side thereof. This bracket is provided in each of its uprights with horizontal slots i9 adapted to receive pivot pins 20 and 2| mounted in the sides of a relatively long guide bar 22. The left end of the guide bar 22 has attached thereto an angular arm 34 (Fig. '7), the upright member of which is provided with a projecting pin 35. This pin engages an arcuate slot 36 in a vertically extending bracket 31 secured to the carriage so that when the guide bar 22 is moved toward the right, the pin 35 will travel downward in the arcuate slot 36 until the left end of the guide bar is lowered to the position illustrated in Fig. 2. This bar, throughout a substantial portion of its length, is provided on its upper surface with a rack 23, and its edges are slidingly engaged by a gib 24, the spaced uprights of whichprovide bearings in which a stub shaft 25 is rotatably supported. This shaft has keyed thereto at one end thereof, a gear 26 projecting through'an opening in the gib to engage the rack '23. The other end of this shaft terminates in a hand wheel 21 by whichthe gear 26 can be rotated, while in mesh with the rack 23, to move the support '9 with respect to the carriage along the guide bar 22. The support 9 is also rotatable about the stub shaft 25 as an axis, by means to be described. This means includes a sleeve '28 rotatable on the stub shaft, which sleeve terminates at its rear end in a spur gear 29 of a planetary gear system and terminates at its front end in hand wheel 30. The support has secured in its longest branch, an 'apertured metal disc 3 l to receive the sleeve 28 on which the disc and its support rotates as a bearing. The disc 3! has an internal gear 32 attached to its rear face. This internal gear meshes with an intermediate gear 33 in turn meshing with the spur gear 29 to constitute a planetary gear system by which the support can be rotated to any desired position and can be held therein without other locking means. The support can also be lowered with respect to the belt 5 by means of the following mechanism.

The pin 21 forming one of the pivots for the bar 22 projects into a nut 41. This nut makes threaded engagement with the threaded portion 38 of a shaft 39, which has bearings at 49 in an arm in the bracket 40 and at 41 in the bracket 48 suspended from the frame. The left end of the shaft 39, as viewed from the front of the carriage, terminates in a bevelled gear 42. This gear meshes with a second bevelled gear 43 carried at the lower end of a stub shaft 44 which is suitably mounted in supports on the carriage for rotation, the upper end of the shaft 44 being provided with a hand wheel 45 by which the shaft may be rotated.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Let it be assumed that the parts of the machine are in a position illustrated in Fig. 1. A piano rim 8 is fastened to the support 9 by means of the clamps II] with the portion 8a of the outside surface of the rim in close relation to the under surface of the moving endless sanding or polishing belt 5. The operator by means of a suitable block of wood (not shown) can depress the belt 5 into contact with the upper surface of the rim. Since the belt 5 is narrower than the width of the rim, it therefore becomes necessary to move the carriage H along the tracks Hi and 55, so that the carriage with the rim supported thereon, can be moved back and forth at right angles to the direction of movement of the belt.

If it is desired to move the rim in a direction parallel to the belt, the hand wheel 2'! is rotated clockwise to move the rim toward the right and counterclockwise to move the rim toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1. This rotation of the hand wheel rotates the shaft 25 and the gear 26 carried thereby. The rotating gear meshes with the rack 23 on the guide bar 22 and since the rack is stationary at this time, the gear 26 moves the gib and the support along the guide bar, depending on the direction of rotation of the gear 23. Thus the support 9 is capable of a large movement parallel to the belt 5. In the normal operation of the machine the hand wheel 21 will be rotated counterclockwise to move the rim toward the left (Fig. 1) to bring successive portions of the straight outer surface 8a of the rim into sanding relation with respect to the intermediate portion of the belt 5. 7

When the upper straight portion of the rim as shown in Fig. 1 has been polished by depressing the belt 5 against the rim while moving the carriage back and forth, the outwardly curved portion 81) of the rim must now be brought into close relation with the belt 5 so that it can be depressed against the mentioned portion of the rim while the carriage is moved back and forth. During this stage of the operations, it is necessary to rotate the support 9 slowly so that all portions of the outwardly curved surface of the rim can be brought into engagement with the depressed belt 5. The rotation of the support is effected by rotating the hand wheel 39. It will be remembered that this hand wheel is attached to one end of the sleeve 28 encircling the stub shaft 25 and it will also be remembered that the rear end of the sleeve terminates in a gear 29 which meshes with the intermediate gear 33, in turn meshing with the internal gear 32 attached to the support. Since the last-mentioned gear arrangement constitutes a planetary gear system, the support 9 can be rotated in either direction and will remain in the position to which it has been rotated.

The reversely curved portion of the rim is now sanded or polished. It is necessary at this time to rotate the support and this is effected by rotating the hand wheel 30 which through the planetary gear system rotates the support in the position at which it is standing with respect to the guide bar 22. The operator by means of the mentioned wooden block depresses the moving belt 5 into the reversely curved portion of the rim. By the proper manipulation of the hand wheels 27 and 39, successive portions of the rim can be brought into sanding relation with respect to the under surface of the belt 5.

When now the surface 841 of the rim is to be sanded,.it becomes necessary to lower the support and this is effected through the rotation of the hand wheel 45. The turning of this wheel rotates the shaft M which operates through the bevelled gears 43 and 42 to rotate the threaded horizontal shaft 39. As this shaft is rotated, the nut 47 which is carried by the pin 2! (see Fig. 6) and which is in threaded engagement with the threaded shaft 39, is moved toward the right from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2. This movement of the nut moves the bar 22 lengthwise toward the right and since its left end is provided with a pin 35 moving in the slot 36 in the bracket 31, the left end of this bar swings in an arc to its lowermost position determined by the lower end of the slot 36 in the mentioned bracket. Thus, the entire support is lowered and by suitably manipulating the hand wheels 21 and 39, the surface 8a of the rim can be brought adjacent to the under surface of the belt 5 as illustrated in Fig. 2, whereby the belt can be depressed and the carriage manipulated to sand and polish the mentioned surface.

Thus, by suitable movement of the support 9, along the guide bar 22 effected by the hand wheel 21 and its related mechanism, and by suitable rotation of the support effected by the hand wheel 39, the support may be rotated to polish all surfaces of the rim except the portion 8d thereof. The polishing of this last-mentioned portion of the rim is effected by the operation of the hand wheel 45 and its related mechanism to lower the support, after which the hand wheels 2'! and 39 can be manipulated to bring the support and the rim carried thereon into proper position to polish this last-mentioned portion of the rim. Thus all portions of the outer surface of the rim can be brought into proper sanding relation with respect to the under surface of the belt 5, by the manipulation of the hand wheels 21, 30 and 45.

It will be appreciated that great saving in time and labor is effected by this machine, since all portions of the outside surface of the piano rim can be brought successively into sanding relation with an endless moving belt thereby obviating the expensive and laborious operations of sanding and polishing the rim by hand.

What I claim is:

1. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comp-risingin combination a strip moving along a normal pathgof travel and having a polishing surface, said strip including aportion mounted so that it can be moved with respect to the remainder thereof out of the normal path of travel, a carriage, a support ad- J'acent said strip, for the article to be polished, said support being mounted for translatory movement and rotary movement through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees on said carriage to position Various portions of the surface of said article in operative relation to the mentioned portion of said strip, and means for eifecting the several movements of said support on said carriage.

2. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a strip moving along a normal path of travel and having a polishing surface, said strip including a portion mounted so that it can be moved with respect to the remainder thereof out of the normal path of travel, tracks extending at right angles to the direction of motion of said strip, a carriage movable on said tracks, a support adjacent said strip for the article to be polished, said support being mounted for translatory movement and rotary movement through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees on said carriage, to position various portions of the surface of said article in operative relation to the mentioned portion of said strip, and means for effecting the several movements of said support on said carriage.

3. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a moving belt having a polishing surface, a carriage, a support adjacent said belt for the article to be polished, said support being mounted adjustably on said carriage, means for moving said support with respect to said carriage along said belt and parallel to the direction of motion of the belt, means for adjusting said support with r respect to said carriage at right angles to said belt, and means for rotating said support on said carriage through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees.

4:. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a moving belt having a polishing surface, tracks extending at right angles to .the direction of motion of said belt, a carriage movable on Said tracks, a support adjacent said belt for the article to be polished, said support being mounted adjustably on said carriage, means for moving said support with respect to said carriage along said belt and parallel to the direction of motion of the belt, means for adjusting said support with respect tosaid carriage at right angles to said belt, and means for rotating said support on said carriage through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees.

5. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a moving belt having a polishing surface, a carriage, a support adjacent said belt for the article to be polished, said support being mounted adjustably on said carriage for movement through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees, and a plurality of separate adjusting means for effecting a universal adjustment of said support with respect to said carriagein a given plane.

6. An arrangement for sanding or polishing, a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a movingbelt having a polishing surface, tracks extendingat right angles-to the direction of mo tion of said belt, a carriage movable on said tracks, a support adjacent said belt for the article to be sanded, said support being mounted adjustably on said carriage for movement through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees, and a plurality of separate adjusting means for effecting a universal adjustment of said support with respect to said carriage in a given plane.

7. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a moving strip having a polishing surface, a carriage, a support adjacent said strip for the article to be sanded, said support being mounted adjustably on said carriage, rack and gear means for moving said support relatively to said carriage, and means for rotating said support through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees in the position to which it has been moved.

8. An arrangement for sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a moving strip having a polishing surface, a carriage, a support adjacent said strip for the article to be sanded, said support being mounted adjustably on said carriage, rack and gear means for moving said support relatively to said carriage, and means including a planetary gear system for rotating the support on the carriage through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees.

9. An arrangement for use in sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a moving belt having a polishing sur face, a movable carriage, a support on said carriage for holding the article to be sanded, and means including a planetary gear system for effecting translatory and rotary movement of said support with respect to said carriage through an arc of at least one hundred eighty degrees.

10. An arrangement for usein sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article, such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a carriage, a guide bar pivoted on said carriage, a rack on said guide bar, a support mounted on said guide bar for movement thereon, a gear on said support engaging said rack whereby the rotation of said gear moves said support and holds it in any desired relation with respect to said carriage, and means for lowering said guide bar whereby said support is lowered with respect to said carriage.

11. An arrangement for use in sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article, such as the rim of a grand piano, comprising in combination a carriage, a guide bar pivoted on said carriage, a rack on said guide bar, an article support adjustably mounted on said guide bar for movement with respect thereto, a gear on said support engaging said rack whereby the rotation of said gear moves said support and holds it in any desired relation with respect to said carriage, means for lowering said bar whereby said support is lowered with respect to said carriage, and means including a planetary gear system for rotating said support on said guide bar.

12. In an arrangement for use in sanding or polishing a large irregularly shaped article, such as the rim of a grand piano, a carriage or the like provided with a downwardly extending guide and a horizontal guide, a guide bar having one end pivoted on said horizontal guide and having its other end mounted to travel in said downwardly extending guide, a support on which said article to be sanded is demountably attached, said support being mounted on said carriage, means on said support engaging said guide bar for moving the support with respect to the carriage, and means for moving said guide bar lengthwise whereby one end thereof is moved vertically under the control of said guides. g

JOSEPH T. LINDSEY. 

